January 23, 2011

Last year saw 52 weeks of topics for readers (and me!) to start a genealogy journal. I called this series Sharing Memories - A Genealogy Journey

Keeping a journal is not always easy. Yet it's important for future generations. If we want to preserve the past, our own memories will one day be as valuable as those of our great-grandmothers. Our descendants will be thrilled to find a journal chronicling our lives and the lives of our parents and grand-parents.

With that in mind, this week's topic is all about your family traditions around such myths as the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and Easter Bunny.

* Do you remember when you first learned that any (or all) of these myths were not real?

* What was your reaction to learning that they were not real?

* Have you carried the traditions on with your own children?

In my childhood I don't remember any talk of an Easter Bunny. We didn't get Easter Eggs or chocolate or any treats that I recall at Easter. Easter morning brought only new underwear and believe me, going to school next day and seeing all the other little girls showing off their new Easter dresses was horrible. I understand now that my parents did not have the money to buy us anything else but at the time I didn't understand at all.

Whenever I lost a tooth the Tooth Fairy visited and left me a dime. I was always so thrilled! Then one day when I was about 8 or 9, I spotted my broken tooth from the night before lying in the kitchen trash! I was devastated to find out that not only was the Tooth Fairy not real, but my mother had tossed my precious tooth into the garbage.

I think I learned that Santa was not real the Christmas Eve he came to our house quite drunk. He stumbled in late that night, ho-hoing and talking very loudly. To my surprise my father greeted him warmly. They sat and had a few drinks while Santa became increasingly loud. I was quite amazed as I had no clue that Santa drank anything but milk! And he knew my father! Eventually it dawned on me that he sounded a lot like our next door neighbour Mr. Hart.

Funny but the only traumatic one for me was finding out that the Tooth Fairy was a myth. I think I loved the idea of a beautiful little fairy with gorgeous clothes and wings flying around bestowing happiness (and money!) every time a little boy or girl lost a baby tooth.

1 comment:

As the mother of six, I had a terrible time remembering to be the Tooth Fairy. Then one day when our youngest was starting to lose teeth, I found some beautiful iridescent wings lying on the deck. "Look! The cat has eaten the Tooth Fairy!" After that I would just pay up.

I'm an incurable collector of
antiques, an avid genealogist and a messy but creative cook! I blog, i write history and genealogy books. My main genealogy website is Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/

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